Shaheen Resigns from Institute of Politics

Former governor seeks Senate seat; successor to be named next week

Former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has stepped down as the
director of Harvard's Institute of Politics to run for U.S. Senate, the
Kennedy School of Government announced Friday.

Shaheen, a Democrat, will vie in next year's election against
John E. Sununu, the Republican senator who defeated Shaheen in 2002
when she ran for the seat.

Since 2005, Shaheen has led the
Institute of Politics, the Kennedy School-based program known for
bringing prominent leaders to Harvard and sponsoring programs for
budding student politicians.

In an e-mail to the institute's
student advisory committee on Friday, Shaheen said that she was sorry
to leave Harvard so abruptly, but added that she had been working with Kennedy School officials to "exit in a way
that best avoids compromising the Institute."

"[A]t the IOP we preach the importance of
politics in making a difference in people's lives, and I believe I can make a
difference in New Hampshire by entering the Senate race," Shaheen wrote.

Kennedy
School Dean David T. Ellwood ’75 said that the school
had been aware that Shaheen was considering a Senate run and would
announce a replacement early next week.

“Jeanne has been an effective engaged, nonpartisan leader of
the Institute of Politics, and we are truly sorry to see her go,” he
said in a written statement.

Shaheen took the Harvard position after serving as the
national co-chair of Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry's 2004 presidential
campaign.

During Shaheen’s short tenure, the institute launched a
women’s leadership program and expanded internship opportunities for
undergraduates.

In New Hampshire, Shaheen will compete in a state that has
trended increasingly Democratic in recent years. In 2004, New Hampshire
voters chose Kerry over George W. Bush, and elected a Democrat, former
Harvard Business School admissions director John Lynch, to serve as the
state's governor.

In addition, both of New Hampshire's moderate Republican
congressmen were defeated by Democratic challengers in 2006, and
Democrats took control of the state government for the first time since
1874.

Shaheen's entrance into the race immediately turns New
Hampshire into a marquee race, joining Colorado, Virginia, and
Minnesota as top Democratic takeover attempts. According to a July poll
conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, Shaheen
would handily defeat Sununu by a 54 to 38 margin.

Democratic Party officials have pushed Shaheen to enter the
race, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 reportedly played a key role
in persuading Shaheen to run.

Kennedy, a member of the institute’s senior advisory committee, praised Shaheen’s two years of service.

“I’m sure this was a very difficult decision for her, because
she’s done such an excellent job at the Institute and has been an
inspiration to so many outstanding young students to consider careers
in politics and public service,” he said in a written statement.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.